Hemoglobinometer



. March l2, 1946. A; A. GRADISYAR ETAL 2,396,250.

HEMOGLOBINOMETER Y AFiled April 25, 1942` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 H IIIIII( 16m 25 Te TT @a 75 T To ..2 T231@ ssrn ze 42 ss 1o es 97 H0124 laems@ 1 l [aesm ze 44 sa 7s 37 mi ne lso |45|||sasl INVENIOR.

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A T Top/@Y March l2, 1946. A. A. GRAD'lsAR .Er AL` I HEMOGLOBINOMETER Filed April 25, 1942 2 vsheets-sheer: 2

d; ATTORNEY hama Mu. 1 2, 194s ments, to American Optical Company. ,Sltll-` bridge,LMass.,- avolnntary association n Application April 25, 1942, serial No. '440.476 v (ci. sii-14) This yinvention relates tohemoglobinometers and more particularly to aninstrument which is 7 Claims.

-compact and portable and ,easily carried by the physicianfor use on his calls for making routine examination of the hemoglobin content of. the blood.

An ,object of. the invention ,is to provide a hemoglobinometer which is compact and portable `andwhich may be used by the physician on his calls for making routine blood examinations and wherein the blood examinations. can `be easilyand quickly madewith only a drop of blood and without any chemical preparation of the sample. I t

yAnother object ofthe invention is to provide a new and improved sighting arrangement for hemoglobinometers of the type set forth.

i Bakelite'or the lkefbut may be Another object of the invention is to provide a device ofthe type set forth having new and improved optical means which provides adjacent iields for matching and also allows maklngthe` instrument of convenient size/and shape.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the ac companying drawings. It will be apparent that many changes may be made in;the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. We therefore do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and described as the preferred f orm has been shown by way of illustration only.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 isV a side view of the instrument.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view of the opposite side thereof.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

,wherein similar reference charactersy designate r.

corresponding parts throughout the.. several views, th instrument as shown, comprises a casing formed of two separate sections *I and 2,- having intertting abutting edges 3 and 4, andv adapted to be retained in assembled relation by*4 the spring clips or the like lwhich are secured to the section-2 adjacent .the ends of `said section 2 and are adapted to resiliently. engage. def pressions or openings'in thegother of.said sections as is shown inv Fig.- f4.v L

The casing sections yI and 2l are` preferably molded of plasticor similar material` such as formed from any other desired material. i

The lower casing section or bulb 8 and reflector 9.

The lamp 8 is preferably of the usual typelem-` ployed irrashlights and the reflector 9 is adapt' J ed to surround said'lamp 8 `and reect light through the standard and specimen as hereinafter described.

The battery contact member I0 for the battery member I3 which may be pressed with the finger I to causev said end I2 to engage the center contact of the lamp to cause the lamp 8 to be lighted. and the member I4 for the other battery 6 has the resilient portion I5 engaging the contact on Fig. 5 is a sectional view takenon line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.'

Fig. 6 is a sectional vview taken on line Ii-B of Fig. 4 looking in the Vdirection of the arrows.

Fig. 7 is` a sectional view taken on line 'L -'i of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.'

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

the battery and its opposite end I6 secured to the contact I1 which resiliently engages the bottom of the battery 1. The contact member 45 is selcured at one end tothe lamp socket I8 and at its other end resiliently engages the bottom of the" battery 6.

In the upper section I of the casing is the partition. I9 on which is slideably positioned the standard or wedge 28' in the slideway 2l. This standard member 20 comprises an absorption wedge supported bythe frame member 22 having the button portion 23 adapted to slide in a slot in the wall of the section i whereby movement of said button member 23 will cause longitudinal movement of the frame 2 2 and color wedge 20.

To support the blood specimen we have `proi vided the resilient supporting member 25 which is adapted to receive and ysupport the member 2B which is formed of glass or other transparent material and which has the slot or groove 21 in the upper face thereof over which the cover plate 28 is adapted to be retained by the resilient lingers 28 of said support 25. This specimen 2 is adaptedto corrtain the dry cell batteries 6 and l and the-,lamp f holder is generally similar to the usual haemacytometer except for size and measuring indications. Y

The support member 25 is provided with the finger members 30 which project outwardly and when the support is placed in the instrument allow the gripping of said fingers 30 for insertion in or removal from the opening 3| in the instrument.

`Over the light source or lamp 8 and beneath the color wedge 28 and the member 26 is provided the support 32 adapted to contain the combination color lter' and diiusing unit 33. The opening 3| for insertion of the sample or specimen holder 25 is so positioned in the upper section of the casing that the standard or absorption wedge and sample are in substantially the same plane so that when the wedge is compared with the specimen theftwo fields will be practically identical in appearance.

'I'he partition I9 and the guideway or slideway 2| are provided with theopenings 34 and 35 in alignment with the lamp 8, color filters 33 and adjacent portions of the wedge 20 and specimen support 25 so that said adjacent portions of the absorption wedge and the specimen in the specimen chamber 26 will be illuminated from below by the lamp 8 and the rays brought into adjacent areas by the prism 36 and the said adjacent portions of said wedge and speci-` men may then be seen side by side for comparison through the lens 3'i and sight tube 38.

As shown in Fig. 1 on the side of the instrument adjacent the button or the like 23 for adjusting the wedge 20, and which button has the index mark 39 thereon, are provided the scales f is reached depending on the hemoglobin content of the blood sample. 1

The prism member 36, as shown in Fig. 11, is a combination biprism and reecting prism, that is, it bends or reflects the light rays and allows the making of the instrument of a convenient size and shape and also performs the functions of a biprism in that it brings the adjoining positions of the sample and standard into adjacent relation for matching. This prism functions both as a reflecting prism and as a biprism because of its shape as shown in Fig. 11. The prism 36 comprises the fiat or plane hypotenuse 4'| and the wedge shaped entrance surface 48 andv inverted Wedge shaped exit surface 49. Because of the wedge shaped entrance and exit surfaces the separate fields are made adjacent without a gap or a disturbing dividing line.

It will be noted, as shown in Fig. 4, that a diaphragm is placed over the face of the prism to- Wad the sight opening and said diaphragm divides the eld into three parts with dark lines between said parts of the field. This will divide the i'leld into -three different parts, that is, be-

cause of the diierence in thickness of the areas of the color4 standard one side of the iield will `be darker than the center area and the other side of the eldvwill be lighter than the center area.

This will facilitate the setting of the instrument and matching of the iields. This diaphragm consists of the members 44 and 48 in the upper and lower edges of the eld respectively and the members 42 and 43. divide the field into three parts. The members 42 and 43 may be merely wire or the like so positioned as to extend across the field to divide the same into three areas or parts.

In the use of the instrument the doctor introduces a drop of blood in the blood chamber 26. The blood may be introduced by capillarity after the members 26 and 28 have been placed in the resilient sample container 25 or'by pipette or other means prior to assembly of this chamber. This assembled chamber is then placed in the opening 3| in the upper section I of theinstrument. The button I3 is then depressed to cause current from the batteries 6 and 'I to illuminatethe lampf or bulb 8 and then while viewing through the lens 31 and sight tube 38 the wedge 20 is moved or adjusted by means of the button 23 until the adjacent elds of the wedge 2n and blood sample appear substantially identical and then the measurement of the hemoglobin content is read from the scales 40 or 4|.

The instrument described above provides a compact and easily portable device for measuring the hemoglobin content of the blood and lwhich device may be easily carried by the doctor on his calls to facilitate routine blood examinations which may be made at that time. With this-construction it is not necessary to have any chemical preparation of the blood sample and as only a drop of blood is necessary for the test it can be drawn directly into the sample holder. It is further pointed out that due to the simplication of the apparatus and the technique employed, no extended training is required for the use of the device.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided simple, eilicient and economical means of obtaining all of the objects and advantages of the invention.

` Having described our invention, we claim:

1. In a device of the character described, an elongate casing, a standard member mounted for adjusting movement within said elongate casing. a light source in said casing for projecting light transversely thereof through the portion of said standard member brought into alignment with the source, a specimen holder mounted in adjacent relation with the portion of said standard .member which is in alignment with said light source, said specimen holder being adapted to contain a specimen to be compared with said standard member, and said standard member and said specimen holder being positioned -so that they are substantially equally' illuminated by the light projected from said light source, reector means closely adjacent to and overlying said standard member and specimen holder and aligned with viewing means extending longitudinally of said casing and cooperating with said reiiector means to permitl simultaneous observation of the adjacent portions of the standard member and of a specimen in said specimen holder, said viewing means comprising a sight tube housed within said elongate casing and aligned with an opening at one end of the casing, said tubebeing formed on at least one side by a Wall of said casing. -f

2. In a device of the character described, an elongate casing, a light source within the casing for projecting light transversely thereof, a diius- 2,396,260 y ing plate illuminated by said light source, reflectvtion of the adjacent portions of the standard member and of a specimen in said specimen holder, said viewing means comprisinga sight tube housed within said elongate casing and aligned with an opening at one end of the casing, said tube being formed on at least one side by a wall of said casing.

3. In a device of the'character described, a casing, a standard member and a specimen Vholder mounted within said casing in adjacent relation,` said standard member being adjustably mounted to bring a selected'portion of said standard member into adjacent relation with said specimen holder, reilector means overlying said standard member and specimen holder and aligned with viewing means housed within said casing and opening through a wall thereof for presenting images of areas of the standard-member and specimen for comparison, said reflector means comprising a bi-prism 'for bringing said images into touching relation, and said bi-prism having a pair of entrance surfaces one overlying the specimen and the other overlying the standard, a reflector surface in reilecting relation to said entrance surfaces and a pair ofl exit surfaces forming a re-entrant angle to bring the reected images of said areas into touching relation.

4. In a device of the character described, an elongate casing comprising a pair of separable sections,`means for retaining said sections in assembled relation, one of said sections containing a light source for projecting light into the other section, a partition having a 4window forming a chamber in the last mentioned section adapted to receive light only through said window, said window being aligned with said source, means in said casing for removably supporting a specimen holder to overlie a portion of said window, a standard member adjustably mounted for move-A ment over said window to bring a selected portion of said member into registry therewith and in adjacent relation with said specimen holder, reflector means mounted in said casing spaced from said window and overlying said specimen holder and the adjacent portion of said standard member, and a sight tube housed within said casing extending longitudinally thereof and aligned with said reector means for viewing in adjacent relation the specimen holder and the selected portion of said standard member as il-l luminated by said light source, at least one side of said sight tube being formed by a Wall of said casing, said tube being aligned with an opening at one end of the casing.

5. In a. device of the character described, an'

elongated casing, a source of illumination in said casing, `a longitudinal partition in said casing having a window aligned with said source for transmitting light therefrom, an eyepiece mounted in an opening in the casing wall adjacent one end of the casing, reflector means housed within the casing in spaced relation with said window and optically aligned therewith and with said eyepiece, means in said casing -for removably supporting a specimen holder to overlie a portion of said window beneath said reflector means, and a standard member adjacent said specimen holder and adjustably mounted for bringing a selected portion of said member into registry with said window beneath said reector means, said casing being divided longitudinally into sections, one of said sections carrying said source and being separable from the other section, and means for retaining said sections in assembled relation.

6. In a device of the character descrlbeda casing containing a source of illumination, an eyepiece mounted in` an opening in the casing wall, reflector means in said casing optically aligned with said source of illumination and with said eyepiece, a standard member and a sample holder mounted in adjacent relation between said reflector means and said source of illumination, and means for adjusting said' standard member to bring a selected portion thereof into aligned relation with said reflector means and said source of illumination, said reflector means lcomprising a bi-prism cooperating with said eyepiece for presenting images of areas of said standard member and sample holder in touching relation for ready comparison, and said bi-prism having entrance surfaces for receiving light from adjacent areas of said standard member and sample, a reflector surface in reecting relation to said entrance surfaces and a pair of exit surfaces forming a reentrant angle to bring the reected images of said areas into touching relation.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination as set forth in claim 6 in which the entrance surfaces of said prism forman external angle.

`ALBIN A. GRADISAR. MORDEN G. BROWN. 

